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As one who has been out of the workforce for a number of years now, I am feeling "stuck" in the system. I have thought about trying to go back to work, even part time, but, fear that I would lose all the current benefits I get with SSDI. I have discussed this with my healthcare provider, who suggests I stay as is... on a fixed income.I understand there is a Ticket To Work Program/a "trial" work period. All this sounds well and good, except, in the event that I went back to work, and am unable to maintain, will SSA then come back and say that I am no longer eligible for SSDI? Then, there goes all the other benefits...Medicare, part D, etc. Am I correct that this is how working while getting SSDI works?? Or, can I work as long as I do not go over a certain amount?I was given a prognosis of 5-7 years back in 1991, when I tested positive. After much thought, and due to HIV related illness, I decided to leave my job, take disability, and wait to die! But, here I am 23 years later, at age 52, still alive. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful to still be here, but, I struggle with how my life is, as someone, who would rather work if possible. Yet, running the risk of losing all benefits, and then where would I be? Its a tough situation. I have learned to swallow my pride for sure.

As one who has been out of the workforce for a number of years now, I am feeling "stuck" in the system. I have thought about trying to go back to work, even part time, but, fear that I would lose all the current benefits I get with SSDI. I have discussed this with my healthcare provider, who suggests I stay as is... on a fixed income.I understand there is a Ticket To Work Program/a "trial" work period. All this sounds well and good, except, in the event that I went back to work, and am unable to maintain, will SSA then come back and say that I am no longer eligible for SSDI? Then, there goes all the other benefits...Medicare, part D, etc. Am I correct that this is how working while getting SSDI works?? Or, can I work as long as I do not go over a certain amount?I was given a prognosis of 5-7 years back in 1991, when I tested positive. After much thought, and due to HIV related illness, I decided to leave my job, take disability, and wait to die! But, here I am 23 years later, at age 52, still alive. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful to still be here, but, I struggle with how my life is, as someone, who would rather work if possible. Yet, running the risk of losing all benefits, and then where would I be? Its a tough situation. I have learned to swallow my pride for sure.

TnMan,

I'm about to (hopefully) get on disability next summer. (poz since 1982) While our lives have been very different I was most struck by your last sentence.

Swallowing pride is tough. I have learned that I can no longer do what I thought I would be able to do yet I want to do more. Does that make sense? You seem to be in a better place than I at the moment. Physically and mentally. Just a guess.

While I would never want to discourage anyone from working, the system can make it difficult. Your future benefits could be at risk. Seems like these days we really don't know what changes are in the winds due to our lovely elected officials. Caution should be our word of the year. I'm not sure what state you live in but that may be of some help or hindrance.

Maybe you could feel productive in other ways or even earn an income under the radar. I'm sure you already thought of this but...

As one who has been out of the workforce for a number of years now, I am feeling "stuck" in the system. I have thought about trying to go back to work, even part time, but, fear that I would lose all the current benefits I get with SSDI. I have discussed this with my healthcare provider, who suggests I stay as is... on a fixed income.I understand there is a Ticket To Work Program/a "trial" work period. All this sounds well and good, except, in the event that I went back to work, and am unable to maintain, will SSA then come back and say that I am no longer eligible for SSDI? Then, there goes all the other benefits...Medicare, part D, etc. Am I correct that this is how working while getting SSDI works?? Or, can I work as long as I do not go over a certain amount?I was given a prognosis of 5-7 years back in 1991, when I tested positive. After much thought, and due to HIV related illness, I decided to leave my job, take disability, and wait to die! But, here I am 23 years later, at age 52, still alive. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful to still be here, but, I struggle with how my life is, as someone, who would rather work if possible. Yet, running the risk of losing all benefits, and then where would I be? Its a tough situation. I have learned to swallow my pride for sure.

Read carefully the "Right To Work Program" info. It doesn't take much to put your ass in a bind.

I agree with Rod . Its important to note that the ticket to work program is not specifically a program designed so that people on disability can work and earn money . Its end goal is to help you return to the work force full time and get people out of the system .

I'm not saying people haven't successfully used the program to help make ends meet financially but as Rod pointed out there is plenty of room to get yourself in a bind and once SSA has you under scrutiny you can end up like Betty in SSA purgatory wondering whats next .

I currently have so many health problems that according to SSA, I'm unempolyableand that was 16 yrs ago, now I have even more health problems, so yeah, going back to work has never been an option for me

Rod has a very good point about beingin a bind w/ SSA, I know a few people like betty that is going thur this right now....and there are also other(s) in the very forum that has done this and gone thur all of this hell w/ SSA before

DEN

HUGS

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"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

The problem with these programs is that they are a bad fit for someone with HIV, and obviously were not designed for us. Think about SSDI as a whole -- I think back pain is the biggest portion of people on it, so maybe after a while they're back pain is tolerable and/or they can find a job that doesn't involve this.

For someone with HIV it's generally more like you are ill when you go on SSDI, but then in a few years my get better enough to be up to 60% of where you were previous to disability, or maybe even better. But then you may (theoretically) work a couple of years and develop some new issue you didn't have before, and so on and on. I believe the program is called "Ticket to Work" and it's just designed to accommodate a person who may have to go back and forth on full or partial disability.

Honestly, you're better off IMO doing volunteer work -- unless of course you're really stretched for money and can find some place that will pay you cash for 10 hour of work each week.

Honestly, you're better off IMO doing volunteer work -- unless of course you're really stretched for money and can find some place that will pay you cash for 10 hour of work each week.

^ this!

I've been in the same boat as others - sick, then better, then sick, then better. I even went to work for a while. But when SS corrected their accounting of my hours and earnings 4 yrs after I had quit work again and gone into the hospital, my disability was cut by 1/3 for 3 yrs and I lost my utilities, my car and my home.

that taught me the hard way to forget about ever trying to get a "real" job again. I'm getting too old now, been unemployed too long, and have the experience of knowing that going back to work usually puts me back into the hospital within a yr or two.

feeling well and not working sucks; but being sick in the hospital sucks too. Being poor sucks; but being homeless sucks even more. So you have to find a way to thread the needle. I have stable housing; but I don't have much spending cash. (going to wendys one time IS my big eat-out meal each month) I don't get paid for the work I am doing with my ASO and state task force; but it gets me out of the house, fights against the depression and helps a bad situation in my state and nation.

Sometimes when I do peer counseling and the new client seems really interested in getting diasability, I caution then about the problems of being long-term disabled by HIV. Knowing my own story and hearing the tales of others, it just seems that long-term disability from HIV can be a life with boredom and poverty. You can fix the boredom with volunteer work; but the unless you can get a job paying under the table or a job for a limited amount of money, being poor is a hard issue to change - and still keep medical benefits.

Of course though, being alive, bored, and poor is a heck of a lot better than being dead

I've been disabled since 1999. I was awarded SSDI in 2002. My disability stems from a TBI suffered in an auto accident.

Prior to being disabled, I was working in publishing doing computer support. Around 2005, I looked into Ticket To Work, as I wanted to see if I could ease myself back into the workforce.

At the time, if I earned over $540/month -or worked over 140 hours a month, in nine months out of sixty months, I'd lose my SSDI. I'd then have to pay my Medicare premium out-of-pocket to keep it. I could go back on SSDI any time in the next thirty-six months (three years) following my ninth month of exceeding $540. If I did, my benefits would automatically be restored and Medicare would once again be paid for by SSA. Now, if for some reason, I was able to work for thirty-seven months and then need disability, I'd be back at square one, needing to reapply.

I had several problems with this.

1) -I'd have to earn over $2,000/month to replace my SSDI and pay for comparable insurance -mostly the insurance premium. I could not see a way I could go uninsured as I was and am still dealing with neurological issues.

2) -I could easily find a job that would take me over $540/month. Unless I really lucked out, finding a job that would pay me $2,000 a month -and accommodate my neurological issues would be practically impossible.

3) Once I hit nine months, unless I was pulling $2,000, I would take a major financial hit, having to support myself on whatever I earned -and now having to pay for all my medical expense out-of-pocket or paying major insurance premiums. I'd be worse off for having tried to better my financial situation.

4)The sixty-month period was a rolling period. The counter started the first month I exceeded $540, then reset the next month I exceeded it again. But the nine months started from the first time I exceeded $540. Tricky tricky tricky.

I queried SSA about running my own company. I knew that even if I could not work 40 hours a week, I could contract services and work as little as I needed to -and still make a little money.

The situation was even more bleak. If I worked over 20 hours a week as my own boss, no matter how little I earned, I could be on my own in those same nine months. The rules were even more strict for being your own boss.

If I didn't work 20 hours a week -and my business made more than $540/month, I'd still trigger the limits and be eligible to be kicked off SSDI. This was disappointing as, at the time, I could set up several online processes that required me to do little work, but would generate significant income.

I also saw the way Ticket To Work operated. It's actual operation was contracted out to companies. You signed up with a company and they (ahem) helped you succeed at your goals. The problems I saw with this, was these companies only got paid if you succeeded. So they had a lot of incentive to make you appear to be able to succeed even if you weren't capable.

I saw a lot of discussion online where these programs failed their initiatives. The people who availed themselves of the services were left no better than before they started. Only, since the company signed off to SSA they were capable of working, the clients found themselves embroiled in red tape with SSA. Many of them found SSA trying to declare them no longer disabled -because they had participated and "succeeded" in a Ticket To Work program.

if you go back to work your telling SSA that you aren't disabled anymore and your well enough to work

My primary disability is neurological damage exacerbated by previous concussions. The neurologist who originally diagnosed me told me there was a possibility my brain could rewire itself eventually. I could regain the neurological functioning I had lost. (It hasn't happened). So for the first few years, I hoped to be able to once again function normally (ha!).

I just was surprised at how little income it took for someone to lose their disability. When I first checked into the program I figured there'd be precautions against someone being worse off by trying to get back off SSDI and back into self-sufficiency. Nope.

I earn the equivalent of half my previous wages by being on disability. Plus I get Medicare coverage to boot. If I had to live on my own in this area of the country, I could easily do so. I couldn't survive on either coasts, but here it would be manageable.

SSA considers me permanently disabled. I still get periodical mailings telling me that I am eligible for Ticket-to-Work.

I earn the equivalent of half my previous wages by being on disability. Plus I get Medicare coverage to boot. If I had to live on my own in this area of the country, I could easily do so. I couldn't survive on either coasts, but here it would be manageable.

SSA considers me permanently disabled. I still get periodical mailings telling me that I am eligible for Ticket-to-Work.

I could easily live on my own, w/ my SSDI if I wanted to, but being alone isn't funand 2 people is always better than yourself, even a stray cat is better than nothing lol...yeah after 16 yrs. I still get those dumb Ticket-to-Work phone calls & mailingI don't know why they even waste the time to do this....lol I'm gonna be 60 yrs. oldin a few yrs. what's the point

HUGS

DEN

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"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

BT65, I feel for you. I, also, have had my 'go rounds' with SSDI. I got call on the carpet for doing volunteer work! I was told that if I could regularly perform volunteer work then I could return to employment and get off disability. Also, lets not forget that little known caveat....once you start ANY work, the clock starts ticking. Once you accumulate a set amount of time, (I think 9 months), then they have the option of discontinuing benefits. I, like you, have other health issues that keep me from working but I find I have no choice but to look for 'under the table' opportunities to allow me to purchase frivolous items like, say, FOOD and MEDS

I earn the equivalent of half my previous wages by being on disability. Plus I get Medicare coverage to boot. If I had to live on my own in this area of the country, I could easily do so. I couldn't survive on either coasts, but here it would be manageable.

There are people "on the coasts" that live on SSDI and seem to make it work, you know. Even single ones. What's "on the coasts" even mean here? New York City? Salisbury, Maryland? Rural Maine?

My point was that "on the coast" seems to be meaning in a major metropolitan area of the Northeast corridor - DC/Philly/NYC/Boston.

If you've not lived in the area there are (obviously) other places in between and on the fringes of these areas that are affordable, IF YOU ARE INSISTENT on a auto-centric lifestyle in surroundings consisting of single family detached housing.

But even in the cities, there are (obviously) non-affluent people that live there. If you are on SSDI and want to live in such a city you have to compromise -- meaning not owning a car (saves a lot of money!) and having a quite small apartment (you learn not to buy useless plastic crap from China at Walmart every other day), etc. And large northeastern cities are affluent in the central areas, there are MANY other areas of the city that are affordable, you just end up using public transport for longer durations.

I've lived in the area my entire life and I just get sick of these misinformed positions people have that have never lived here and seem to think that from movies everyone lives in a glass-encased high rise with a Maserati waiting in the basement garage.

Yes, my SSDI is probably higher than someone's in Iowa because it was based on my last 2-3 years salary in NYC but it's still one quarter of what I was making over a decade ago meaning it's probably 1/6th of what my salary would have been in the year 2014.

I could still live "on the coast" in the larger meaning by moving somewhere like Vineland, NJ -- 40 miles southeast of Philadelphia, but I'd buy a car and all the accompanying expenses (and annoyances) that come with that and have to drive an hour into the city to do anything enjoyable, so what's the point in those cash savings?

fyi, I can't even move closer to my family because they live in the one county that has the highest median income in the entire US so like I could afford a one-bedroom apartment there, much less add on a car. And same with my one brother -- the county he lives in is the highest income in North Carolina, though amusingly that's still half of what it is at my parents in Northern Virginia. Meanwhile I live in an urban gentrifying neighborhood that via census tract information (meaning zipping in on my specific neighborhood and not the entire city number) is still less than where my two parts of my family lives, plus I don't have to own a car because I am not allergic to public transport.

Basically you'd need to tell me how much you spend on housing plus auto costs for me to tell you if you could afford to live where I do. Auto costs IMO are key. Also, if I was shacked up with a partner in my neighborhood I could obtain a MUCH nicer apartment with totally new renovation job. So Topeka and Tulsa -- how much is a decent one-bedroom rental DOWNTOWN and then add in an average car's yearly cost -- not just the payments.

A One Bedroom Apt. renovated and new go's for about $350 to $450 depending on what you want

a Two Bedroom Apt. w/ the same as above go's for about $600 to $800 again depending on what you want here in ABQ-metro......

Downtown, or close to downtown. Not 30 miles from the city center. And if you are taking those rental prices 20-30 miles out from the city center with no public transport how much would you add in for the monthly expense of car? Nothing fancy, but nothing that will break down every six months either. Add those costs in and you're probably around what I pay for rent living within walking distance (one mile) from the city center of a major city "on the coast". Yes, I pay for public transportation but on disability and under 65 it's significantly reduced fro $2.50 normal fare to $1 each way. I don't worry about fluctuating gas prices, inspection fees, license fees, and the inevitable unexpected high maintenance costs.

ps: I've not tried to earn money either over or under the table the entire time I've been on SSDI -- 1) simply because I'm afraid of messing things up and 2) didn't have the ability health wise for the first 4 years and definitely not the last 4 years; that leaves 3 years where I possibly could have done something -- obviously not ideal at any rate

ps: I've not tried to earn money either over or under the table the entire time I've been on SSDI -- 1) simply because I'm afraid of messing things up and 2) didn't have the ability health wise for the first 4 years and definitely not the last 4 years; that leaves 3 years where I possibly could have done something -- obviously not ideal at any rate

Yeah, I hear ya, I've never really been able to work snice my SSDI, just when I feel good something always happens that puts me right back to where i was, I just rencently got a fugal-throat & Esophageal infection that lasted for about 2 weeks, and had to change all of my meds, as none of them were working ( like Before) also, my PTSD always comes back at me when I least expect it, not to mention all of my other underlying health problems......

HUGSDEN

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"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

One-bedroom apartment here runs about $350-$450, utilities included. You can even get a 3-bedroom place with garage and a yard for about that, if you know the owner.

And five miles from our "downtown" is farmland in all directions. Plus, our downtown area is not a happenin' place. Nowhere in Topeka is a happenin' place, if you know what I mean. Our downtown is a barren wasteland after 5pm.

Public transport here is a joke. You have to have a car to get around. If I lived in an urban center with great public transport, ditching a car would be the first thing I'd do. Why have what you don't need.

One can live cheaply anywhere. I know in NYC you can get space in a flophouse for $10/day. It's all in what you are willing to compromise when it comes to livable spaces.

To clarify, when I say "on the coast" I mean major metropolitan areas. I know one can find pockets of cheap in any state. One just has to have familiarity with the terrain, so to speak. Personally, I know I could not uproot myself and just plop down in an unfamiliar area without incurring extra expenses. I would have to do some major research to find that elusive downmarket sweet spot of affordability and liveability.

Heck, there was a time I was living in a spacious 4-bedroom home with detached garage and large yard for $250/month and had a ten-minute commute to my job. At the same time, one of my brothers was paying $1,200/mo. for his digs in Nutley NJ. His accommodations were smaller than my two-car garage, but he had a lovely view of the New York skyline and a two-hour daily commute. Neither of us would trade lives with the other.

It would be difficult to live in South Florida on SSDI alone without some type of subsidies for most people receiving SSDI.....

According to my last Social Security statement, if I became disabled "today," my monthly benefit would be about $1,700.

Rent where I live (which is North Miami - about 10 miles from the city center - Miami) is $800 month for a one bedroom w/ a balcony - mainly lower working class neighborhood.... Downtown Miami rents - in "safe" areas run $1,300 - $2,000+ month. If you go to a "rough" area (i.e. gunshots, drugs, roaches) you might be able to get an unsubsidized apartment for $850 or $900 a month.

My "partner" has HOPWA, so his rent in the same building I live in is around $140 month (of course his monthly SSDI and SSI benefit only comes to about $800 month).

Public transportation here sucks - really sucks....

Car note for my car is $350 month; car insurance for full coverage w/ minimal coverage amounts is $145 month ($1,740 a year - YIKE!!! And that is w/ USAA, GEICO was much higher when I had it)... Gas is $3.40 a gallon... Hard to say what I would pay if I was on disability and not driving back and forth to work everyday - but right now I pay about $180 month.... So, "regular" car expenses run $675 month, plus a little for regular maintenance).

I would be able to survive on SSI here in South Florida - given my current "estimated" benefit - but it would be a tight squeeze and I would definitely have to change my lifestyle significantly.

I would not be eligible for food stamps - so, I would be putting out about $400 a month on food; cable/Internet runs about $150 month; cell phone $40 month; electric is about $100 month..... I also have student loan payments - but those could be adjusted to an income sensitive plan...

Total it up and my "base" expenses using current standard of living run about 4$2,165 --- and that is without any extras (entertainment, clothing, etc.) - So, the math wouldn't work to maintain my current lifestyle on disability.

According to my last Social Security statement, if I became disabled "today," my monthly benefit would be about $1,700.

you wouldn't get the 1,700 a month, you would only get 1,569 as you would be stuck paying for your medicare premium of $104 like I have to, that's about what my SSDI is every month...but I'm fortunate I live with Bob, and he makes a little less that I do each month

HUGSDEN

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"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

You would not be able to afford your HIV/AIDS/MEDS even with medicare part d,as you would be a huge donut hole with part d. ( like I'm)

you would have to use the VA to get all of your meds for $8 or you would have to go to your local ASO for help with housing, Meds and what ever else they could provide you with...

so that $1,700 or adjusted $1,569 after you pay your medicare premium wouldn't go very far at all, you always could apply for SEC 8 HUD but that has a waiting list of about 2 to 5 yrs.

just saying

DEN

HUGS

Not sure that is an accurate statement though obviously can vary by state -- my Medicare Part D premium is paid by the state, I never see a bill. Though my SSDI is on the high side I still qualify for "extra help" http://www.ssa.gov/prescriptionhelp/

I end up paying ~$80 in copays per year, that's it. Are you saying the VA charges $8 for each prescription regardless of whether or not it's generic or non-generic? That would cost me $80/month or $960 annually - that's a lot.

IMO the real issue is taking care of the 20% in Medicare A & B that isn't covered for medical services, lab costs, hospital stays, etc. Aside from the $104 that is deducted from my monthly SSA payment I also pay $98 to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for what is essentially Medicaid as my secondary insurer -- but I have to pay this because I don't qualify on income to have have it at no cost. But the coverage is really great -- I never pay a copay to see a doctor, every specialist except one dermatologist has accepted me as a patient, and I've not seen a single bill from the five out-patient hospital procedures I've had in the past 3 years, all of which included general anesthesia.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Neither of you have told me what you pay in monthly car (and associated costs) per month.

I'm not a good example.

These days, I pay cash for all our vehicles. I buy older low-mileage vehicles and drive them for years. I, or my son, do most all the repairs, including transmission swaps. I am able to purchase new parts at a discount and I frequent junk yards for non-essential items. This prevents me from having to pay shop rates for parts and repairs.

I track our vehicle costs per mile, not per month.

The most expensive personal-use vehicle costs us $89/month to insure with full coverage. I bought it for $3,000 and have owned it for three years. I put maybe two tanks of gas in it a month. As of now, it has cost us about $0.12/mile to operate. This includes purchase price, taxes, fluids, tires, repairs, insurance and gas over the lifetime of the vehicle. Most of our vehicles per-mile cost drops over the lifetime of the vehicle. (I track it this way as it gives me a good indication of whether a vehicle is cost-effective to repair or replace.)

Converting from miles to months, averaging about 10,000 miles a year, this works out to about $100/month.

The last vehicle I financed was back in the early '90's. IIRC, It cost me $250/mo for 36 months. So if I were financing a vehicle today, I'd probably be incurring a similar additional cost.

So that would put me at $350/mo. for a vehicle.

I think this value is very low due to the reasons I have given. But there it is.

Not sure that is an accurate statement though obviously can vary by state -- my Medicare Part D premium is paid by the state, I never see a bill. Though my SSDI is on the high side I still qualify for "extra help" http://www.ssa.gov/prescriptionhelp/

I went to that web link you posted just to see if I qualified for Medicare extra help

nope, I don't qualify, after I put in my monthly income they said no

so no part d medicare for me EVER!

HUGS

DEN

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"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

Betty, I'd make sure you have documentation of that $24 overage, SSA has a horrble habit of making up numbers with very bad accounting practice(s) and SSA dose get called on this allot

but it's up to you to caught the mistake (if SSA isn't correct in the accounting part) of all of this mess

Oh, after having been on the benefit merry-go-round for years, I had learned to keep 4 and 5 copies of things. So of course I have documentation of the overage. And mailed and faxed everything to SSA a few times.

Chicago is the payment center, so not sure what the review would be doing there, as I understand they don't do reviews. Who knows. I believe I have the phone number and may call them today when I get home from work. Of course that doesn't mean they'll tell me anything.

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I've never killed anyone, but I frequently get satisfaction reading the obituary notices.-Clarence Darrow

Oh, after having been on the benefit merry-go-round for years, I had learned to keep 4 and 5 copies of things. So of course I have documentation of the overage. And mailed and faxed everything to SSA a few times.

Chicago is the payment center, so not sure what the review would be doing there, as I understand they don't do reviews.

Humm my SSA payment processing center comes outta of Atlanta, GA. and I just found out that my VA comes out of ALT as well...

Yeah, the Govt. loves paper work, and so dose the VA, I'm finding that out on a daily basis snice DEC 2013

fight them with as much paper work as you can find Betty, some or most of the SSA's CSR's can be very lazyand don't always like to look up things, like they are paid to do

HUGS

DEN

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"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

Well, it's been a long, loooong 8 months. Finally, I got news in the mail yesterday. SSA has decided my disability should continue (for now). So, good news! And it only took the White House, my congresswoman, and senator, to get things done.

I shared with someone yesterday, that I had e-mailed the White House 3 times. On their website, there is a link to use to send an e-mail. Anyway, I must have sounded desperate, as someone from the White House contacted me. I have her voicemail saved on my phone. The White House contacted SSA twice, as someone from the admin building at SSA in Baltimore, contacted me twice. It's a funny story that's kinda long to go into, but the first time the guy from SSA called, we only talked a few minutes. The last time he called, we talked for about an hour. I was able to better explain my situation to him. He said he would talk with the lady doing the review.

I also contacted Senator Donnelly's office, and had a caseworker there, and Congresswoman Walorski's office, and had a caseworker there. I did not vote for Walorski, but she is the congressperson for this district, and congress people are usually the ones to handle federal agencies, while senators usually handle state agencies.

Anyway, it's been a horribly long process. I no longer work at the ASO, that ended January 31, my choice. I got terribly bored sitting around, and accepted a very, very part-time job facilitating a women's HIV support group. It will only be once a week, but will also include lining up events, planning any outings etc. While the per hour pay is better, of course it is going to be many less hours, and can mostly work from home, other than going to the group meetings.

So, we'll see. Thanks everyone for the input, and outpouring of support. People who know me were not surprised I got government officials involved, while people who do not know me well were a little surprised. But, I tell people, contact the government officials, after all they (are supposed to) work for us. Even though they may not have "officially" solved this issue, I'm sure their input didn't hurt things any. Thanks all! I owe many here a debt of forever gratitude.

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I've never killed anyone, but I frequently get satisfaction reading the obituary notices.-Clarence Darrow